world
California Releases Baby2Baby Diaper Contract Records 66 Days After Request
The state released documents on July 17, 2026, showing the $6.2 million contract was coded non-competitively bid. CBS News had requested the records on May 12.
Jul 20, 3:56 PM·1m read1 source
nypost.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
m. on July 17, 2026, revealing that the $6.2 million agreement signed in April had been coded as non-competitively bid in the state database, following a May 12 public records request from CBS News. Governor Newsom announced the contract on May 8. HCAI informed Baby2Baby on January 7 that it had been selected, though the governor stated on camera that the deal went through a competitive bidding process.
The document governing the RFI process states it is not a solicitation and that pricing will not be considered a proposal or bid. The 2025 budget funded the Diaper Access Initiative at $7.4 million General Fund. Lawmakers removed the governor's program from the budget on June 13, 2025, then added $7.4 million in the Budget Bill Jr. on June 27 with a no-bid exemption.
The 2026-27 budget allocated $12.5 million for the initiative and $16.5 million one-time for diaper banks. The state took 24 days to determine whether the records were disclosable and extended its response deadline three times. The final notice came at 5:09 p.m. on July 3, a state holiday.
The governor's office emailed CBS News at 6:04 p.m. on July 17 requesting corrections to its reporting. The governor's January 2025 budget proposal set the plan for 40 million diapers at roughly $6.2 million. The executed contract matches that plan. HCAI documents give conflicting counts of RFI responses as 11, 14, and 15. The state never issued an official RFP for competitive bids.
